The US chocolate maker Mars, one of the world’s largest privately-held companies, issued a voluntary recall in 55 countries for Snickers bars, Milky Way minis, and some other candy bar varieties that were manufactured in a Dutch factory between December 2015 and January 2016. A red piece of plastic was found in one Snickers bar […]
Continue readingHow will zero-based budgeting impact Unilever?
March 1, 2016 
0 Comments
Unilever is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and London, United Kingdom. Some of its major brands in the U.S. include Dove, Hellman’s, Lipton, and Ben & Jerry’s. The company is organized into four main divisions including Foods, Refreshment (beverages and ice cream), Home Care, and Personal Care. Despite reporting better than […]
Continue readingHow are Adele’s financial statements impacted when tickets to her North American tour sell out within a few minutes?
February 25, 2016 0 Comments
Adele released her third album, 25, in late 2015, quickly shattering several records. The album 25 was the first album to sell more than three million copies in a week and also racked up the most records sold in a week with 3.38 million records sold that first week. Her single Hello from 25 was […]
Continue readingWhen the chocolate used in Cadbury Creme Eggs was changed to a less expensive chocolate, what variances would have been impacted?
February 23, 2016 0 Comments
A Cadbury Creme Egg is an egg-shaped chocolate candy that weighs about 35 grams, or a little more than 1.2 ounces. It is filled with a white fondant and a smaller amount of yellow fondant, meant to mimic an actual egg. (Fondant is a type of sugar syrup.) In the U.S., Cadbury Creme Eggs are […]
Continue readingWould the owner of the PNC Arena where the Carolina Hurricanes play hockey be better off financially if the arena were to shut down?
February 16, 2016 0 Comments
The Gale Force Holdings Limited Partnership owns both the Carolina Hurricanes (a professional hockey team) and the PNC Arena where the Hurricanes play. A recent news article stated that the Carolina Hurricanes owner lost $1.3 million in operating the PNC Arena for the fiscal year ending June 2015 (Forbes, Mike Ozanian, “Carolina Hurricanes Owner Lost […]
Continue readingHow would Reverb, the online marketplace for musicians, record its issuance of $25 million of stock?
February 9, 2016 0 Comments
Started in 2013, Reverb is a company that provides an online marketplace for musicians to buy and sell gear. Its investors include country music superstar Brad Paisley and Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. Reverb can be thought of as the “Ebay for musicians.” The wide scope of the Ebay marketplace makes it hard at times […]
Continue readingWhat is the impact of Toshiba’s credit line on its financial statements?
February 2, 2016 0 Comments
In 2015, Toshiba Corp. (TOSBF) announced that it had overstated profits by nearly $2 billion over a six year period. It has since announced that it could lay off up to 10,000 workers. In addition, Toshiba is selling its television manufacturing plant in Indonesia to raise cash. These events have all been part of the […]
Continue readingAt Lululemon, how can sales be up while gross margin is down?
January 28, 2016 0 Comments
Founded in 1988, Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU) is an athletic apparel company headquartered in Canada. Lululemon has helped to popularize the ubiquitous yoga pants in the U.S. While it has experienced some sales declines due to a recall of yoga pants in 2013 for being too sheer, Lululemon has revamped its product line to update […]
Continue readingWhat are the product and period costs associated with a Broadway theater bar?
January 26, 2016 0 Comments
Broadway theaters saw record attendance in the 2014 – 2015 season, with ticket sales up 7.3% over the prior season (“Theater Bars Are a Smash Hit on Broadway,” Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2015.) As a result, private hospitality companies who operate bars in Broadway theaters have experienced sales growth as well. One such hospitality […]
Continue readingWhich contingent liabilities resulting from the Volkswagen (VW) emissions cheating scandal would be recognized or disclosed in Volkswagen Group’s financial statements?
January 19, 2016 2 Comments
Volkswagen manufactures the iconic Beetle in addition to other models including the Passat, the Jetta, and others. Volkswagen Group (VW) has been embroiled in an emissions cheating scandal discovered in 2015. Essentially, what happened is that VW’s engineers developed and inserted software in VW car engines to cheat on the emissions testing process, making its […]
Continue reading
Accounting in the Headlines 